The Sun rose early in this northern land. All the people in the
village gathered in the village's center to see the arrival of the
fighters. Everyone was anxious to see who'd become the new ruler.
The young warrior or her ruthless, bloodthirsty challenger. Zabor
and his men arrived in the village with a bang. They rode to the
village center and Nali was there to meet Zabor. Xena and Gabrielle
were standing by Nali, wanting to see Exl's challenger. He was a
fierce looking man. Tall, very dark and very deadly, just like Exl
had described him. He looked down at Nali from his horse and said,
with a cold, dark voice:

"Princess Nali, I am honored to be invited to your
village." Nali bowed to Zabor and answered:

"Zabor, it is a pleasure to have you here. Remember what you
promised, you are only one to fight here today. We don't want any
trouble, I hope your men won't cause any."

"You have my word, my men won't cause any trouble. Now,
where is the heir?", Zabor asked looking around for Exl.

"Or has she ran away? Knowing the outcome of this
battle?"

"Here I am Zabor", a voice said, coming from a cabin. Nali, Xena
and Gabrielle turned to look at the door of the cabin they were
standing in front of. Exl walked out the door, she was holding her
sword. She walked past her cousin and her friends, who gave way to
her as she walked to Zabor. Zabor looked at Exl, and finally
said:

"Exl, I would have never imagined that Swyther had the nerve
of making you his heir and that you had the courage and the guts to
face me."

"Zabor, you have challenged me to the battle of Huntar. I accept
the challenge. You know the rules, the winner is made ruler and the
loser… well you know. We will fight at noon, you will be
showed a cabin where you can prepare for the battle", Exl said with
a calm voice, showing respect to her opponent. Gabrielle and Xena
were baffled at this indication of respect to an opponent before a
fight, but they knew the Finlandian traditions were very different
to their own. Around here, warriors had respect and honor, even for
their opponents. Zabor nodded and glanced quickly at Xena and
Gabrielle, then looked at Exl saying:

"Young warrior, I hope you are prepared to meet your doom."
Then he and his men rode off, disappearing to the far side of
the village. The village center was soon empty, only Exl,
Gabrielle, Xena and Nali were there. Gabrielle felt frightened for
Exl, after seeing the person she was about to face. Now she
understood Exl's concern they talked about a few nights ago. They
turned and entered the cabin, preparing Exl for the battle.

It was finally noon. The people had come to the center of the
village and formed a big circle. They waited for the fighters and
whispered wondering who would win. Zabor entered the circle and his
men arranged behind him. He looked like he would be prepared to
fight twenty men, not a single young female warrior.

Then everyone went silent when Nali approached the circle and
Gabrielle and Xena were behind her.

A mysterious figure was following right behind them. They walked
to the circle and turned to look at the hooded, caped figure that
had followed them. The figure walked past them and stopped about
half a dozen feet from Zabor. Then the figure removed its hood and
underneath it was Exl. She took off her cape, revealing her
fighting outfit. She had her black boots and kneepads, dark brown
knee-length pants and a dark blue sleeveless shirt with her ensign
on her back. She had her sword in its scabbard on her back and her
battle axes in their scabbards by her sides with her knives in her
boots where she usually held them. She had her Guardian's pendant
around her neck, for everyone to see it. She said to Zabor in her
own language:

"So, are you ready?" Zabor looked at Exl and said:

"The question is, are YOU ready?" Both fighters turned
to their supporters for one last time.

Exl walked to Nali, Xena and Gabrielle. Nali put her hand on her
cousin's shoulder and said:

"Exl, I only wish this wasn't the only way…" Exl looked at
her cousin, feeling her heart aching from first losing her brother
and now, possibly losing her cousin.

"Nali, you know I have to do this. I am doing it for you and our
people", Exl said and hugged her cousin. Then Exl went to her
Couple and was grabbed to be embraced by both her
friends.

"Thank you, for everything. I love you both", Exl said, with her
heart feeling very heavy. Xena and Gabrielle brushed Exl's head and
cheeks. Gabrielle was almost in tears and it was hard for her to
keep calm.

"Exl, please do your best. We don't want to lose you. We love
you." Exl smiled at Gabrielle. Then Xena gave Exl a tug on the
shoulder saying:

"Don't worry, I know you'll be fine, just stay strong", Xena
said trying to encourage her friend.

"Xena, promise me you'll keep Gabrielle safe. If things look
bad, don't let her see me go down. And if I don't make it, please
talk with Gabrielle about what we discussed about when coming here,
about the Guardian thing", Exl said offering Xena her forearm. Xena
grasped the young warrior's forearm, squeezing it not wanting to
let go.

"I promise." Gabrielle didn't understand what her wife and her
Loyal were talking about. Exl then gave her friends a kiss on both
cheeks and her special salute. She held her right closed fist to
her heart and bowed her head deeply.

Then she walked to the center of the circle to wait for Zabor.
Gabrielle grabbed Xena's hand and looked into her wife's eyes
asking:

"Xena, what did Exl mean by this discussion we must have, if she
doesn't make it??" Xena looked at her sad wife and answered
sighing:

"Gabrielle, because the tradition of a Guardian is not usual for
us, we have to choose. Whether to continue our life without a
Guardian, or to ask someone else to become our new Guardian. That
is what Exl told me." Gabrielle felt like her heart was braking.
Someone very close to her was about to go into battle where she
could lose her life. The only thing Gabrielle could do at that
moment was to tightly embrace Xena and cry. Xena tried to comfort
her wife, at the same time feeling quite empty inside and very sad.
They could only wait and watch what would happen to their beloved
Guardian.

Zabor finished talking to his men and joined Exl to the center
of the circle. Nali walked to the fighters and announced:

"Do you both know the rules of the battle of Huntar and promise
to obey the rules?" Both nodded looking at each other. Nali turned
to the viewers and said:

"The battle of Huntar is about to begin. Once the battle starts,
no-one can help the fighters. They must fight each other. They can
only use the weapons they have here in the circle. If one can pin
down the other or the other can no longer fight, he or she is
declared winner. The winner will be made ruler of the village and
our nation. If one surrenders, the other is declared winner. At the
end the battle, the winner will have the duty of killing the loser,
in any way the winner decides." Gabrielle and Xena had heard some
of the rules from Exl before, so they knew the important parts. The
only way out is by winning or dying.

"Fighters ready?", Nali shouted, and the both of them nodded.
Nali continued:

"Let the battle of Huntar, begin!" She ran from the center of
the circle, next to Gabrielle and Xena.

At the signal, Zabor launched at Exl. She dodged his attack by
flipping over him just as he was about to reach her. Exl landed and
turned to Zabor who just stared at the young warrior with
amazement. Exl drew her sword and gave it a twirl. Exl had truly
learned something from Xena. Zabor got frustrated and plunged at
Exl again. Now he tried jumping on her, but failed because Exl hit
the deck and Zabor just flew over her landing on the ground. The
viewers laughed seeing Zabor's comic act. But Zabor wasn't
laughing. He rose and drew his sword. He said to Exl with great
anger:

"Now warrior, the fun and games are over. It's time for
business."

Now Exl made the first move, she did a flip and landed right in
front of Zabor.

"Fine with me", she said smirking. Zabor swinged his sword at
Exl who dodged his every hit. Then she tried to hit Zabor, but
missed him just slightly. Zabor now got his chance and hit Exl
straight above the left eye with his fist. Exl fell down and
everyone, especially Xena and Gabrielle gasped, fearing the hit
might be only one needed from this big warrior to get Exl out of
the picture. But for everyone's amazement Exl stood up like nothing
had happened. She was bleeding from corner of her eyebrow and she
tried wiping the blood away, but it just stained the corner of her
left eye. Zabor thought that this young one was truly tougher than
he first thought. He was surprised when Exl did a few somersaults
and kicked him in the right shin. He fell and dropped his sword.
Exl tried to rise on her feet, but was taken down by the swipe
Zabor gave her, making her fall on her stomach. Zabor and Exl
stayed down for two seconds at the most.

Neither had their swords and they started to cycle around the
circle not taking their eyes of one another. Gabrielle had slowly
loosed her embrace of Xena, feeling a bit more confident that her
Loyal could have a chance. Xena knew her young trainee had learned
so much fighting techniques from her and the Amazons, and combined
with her earlier skills, she should be able to take Zabor out with
no problems. Then Zabor did a dirty trick, he reached for some sand
and threw it right in Exl's face. She was blinded for a moment, but
was able to focus on Zabor when he was coming at her with his sword
ready to impale her. Exl kicked Zabor's sword away with a spinning
kick. Then Exl fell purposely on her back, grabbing hold of Zabor's
shirt and flipping him over her and quickly standing up. Standing
steady on her feet Exl drew her axes, ignoring the sword right next
to her foot. The sword wasn't her kind of weapon, she had always
been able to trust her axes.

Zabor jumped up, simultaneously grabbing for the bolas he had on
his side. He started spinning the bolas and Exl held her axes ready
for Zabor's attack. Zabor jumped in the air and threw his bolas at
Exl. She easily dodged, thinking it was a bit too easy. She threw
her axe to cut the rope of the bolas, but unfortunately Zabor
landed and grabbed it. He just smiled and threw Exl's axe at her
feet. Making a flip, Exl was able to be safe from her own weapon,
but this was just like Zabor had planned. When Exl was is mid-air,
Zabor had pulled his bolas back to him and was now waiting for the
moment Exl would land. Exl grabbed her axe and was now standing
firmly on the ground holding her axes. Not knowing what was about
to hit her, Exl just saw Zabor throwing his bolas at her and felt
the ropes wrapping around her ankles. The next moment Exl looked at
her feet, then at Zabor and felt herself being pulled to the
ground. She landed straight on her left shoulder blade, which had
been previously injured, just before meeting Xena and Gabrielle for
the first time. When Xena saw the bolas being wrapped around Exl's
feet, she feared that being pulled down might give Zabor the
advantage he needed. But seeing their Guardian land on her
cautiously treated shoulder, Gabrielle and Xena could feel Exl's
pain. Exl screamed from the pain, trying to keep her mind clear at
the same time. Zabor saw Exl's pain and with content:

"So, I finally found a sore spot. You're finished
warrior!" But Exl took advantage of Zabor's loss of
concentration. She grabbed her axe, cut the ropes around her feet
and tugged on the rope with the other end in Zabor's grip. He fell
on his face and when trying to get up, he got kicked in the face by
his young opponent. Everyone watching gasped for air, anxiously
waiting for what would happen next. Exl quickly tried to feel if
she had broken any bones, but wasn't sure if her shoulder blade had
been fractured again. Zabor rolled to his back holding his injured
nose. Exl walked to him and kneeled beside him. She said in her
calm voice:

"Zabor, it is over. I'll let you live if you give up
now." Zabor just looked at the young warrior. Then he made
his move. He grabbed Exl by her wrist and threw her on the ground
next to him. He quickly rose and pulled a dagger from this pocket.

"Yes warrior. It IS over. Over for you." He hit Exl,
making her black out for a moment. Then he took hold of Exl's
pendant and said:

"This is mine now." He was about to use his dagger to
get the pendant from around Exl's neck. Seeing Zabor nearly take
Exl's pendant made Xena simply see red, if Gabrielle wouldn't have
held her hand she would have been in the circle, kicking Zabor's
butt. Gabrielle knew she had to keep Xena from helping Exl, even
though she wanted to help her Loyal in any way she could.

Just as Zabor was about to cut the lace that held the pendant,
Exl opened her eyes and said:

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to steal?" She grabbed
Zabor's shirt and rolled him on his back and she was on him pinning
him to the ground. Then Zabor rolled over and had Exl pinned
underneath him. He scratched the left side of Exl's face, giving
her a long, but only slightly bleeding cut from her eyebrow, across
her eyelid ending just below her eye. Exl was like nothing had
happened, it was "just a small scratch". They rolled over and over,
until Exl was finally on top. She flipped up and grabbed her axe
while Zabor was still on the ground. As he was trying to get up,
Zabor was stopped by Exl who was holding her foot on his chest,
near his neck pushing him to the ground. Exl looked at Zabor, with
the blood dripping from her wound to her eye. She raised her axe in
the air and gave a swing. Gabrielle had to close her eyes, she
couldn't watch this. Xena held Gabrielle tightly by her side. But
the final strike stopped only a few centimeters from Zabor's
throat. Exl just held her weapon at her opponent's throat and said:

"No, I'm not going to kill you. I am going to let you walk from
here. As the new ruler of this nation and this village, I am going
to make changes around here." Everyone was simply amazed at the
words of this young warrior. Even Gabrielle and Xena, who just
stared at each other first, then at their Guardian.

"Yes you heard me. I am going to let you go, on one condition.
You and your men are banned from this village and this land, AND
from Greece. If you are ever seen here again, I give the people
permission to do what ever they please with you. Do you
understand?" Zabor just slightly nodded, terrified of the previous
action of this young warrior. Exl took her axe from Zabor's throat
and rose up. Exl took her sword from the ground and put it in it's
scabbard on her back, then turned to the people and said:

"My people, I have once disappointed you, but now I hope I
gained your trust in me. I apologize for the past mistakes I have
made, now I wish with all my heart that you can forgive me."
Someone in the crowd shouted:

"Hurray for Exl! Hurray for Exl!" Everyone started
cheering for the new ruler. Gabrielle and Xena hugged each other
and were about to go to their beloved Guardian when something
unexpected happened. Zabor had soundly crouched up and was right
behind Exl. He had pulled a dagger from his boot and was about to
stab Exl in the back. Xena grabbed her chakram and shouted:

"Exl! Look out behind you!", then she threw her chakram. Exl was
about to turn when she felt Zabor dagger in her right side. Xena's
chakram was slightly late to prevent the strike, but it was still
accurate. It hit Zabor in the chest, killing him instantly.
Gabrielle shouted:

"Exl! No!", seeing her Loyal stabbed and fall on her back. Both
fighters were now laying on the ground motionless. Xena, Gabrielle
and Nali rushed to Exl's side.

"Exl, Exl can you hear me?", Xena asked holding Exl head in her
lap. Exl slowly opened her eyes, and saw her Couple and Nali by her
side. She said quietly:

"Xena? Gabrielle? Nali? I… I thought I made the right
choice by not killing Zabor. But… I guess it was a mistake,
and now I have to pay for it." Gabrielle took Exl's hand and gave
it a kiss.

"My Queen, don't cry. I won't leave you, I…
promise…" Then Exl went limp, her eyes closed and her hand
just fell to Gabrielle's lap. All three women were in tears, seeing
the young warrior first winning the battle and now… Xena felt
Exl's neck for a pulse, to see if she had passed away. Her face
changed from mournful to hopeful.

"Quickly, we must get her inside." Gabrielle and Nali looked at
Xena, a bit shocked.

"Why Xena?", Nali asked.

"Because she is still alive, I think I can still save her."
Nali's and Gabrielle's heart jumped up to their throats. Exl was
still alive, she had just went unconscious. Nali signaled two men
who came and carried Exl carefully to the Prince's
cabin.

In another room, Nali and Gabrielle waited to hear news about
Exl's condition.

After half a candle mark, Xena came from the room, where she had
been examining and caring for Exl.

"Xena? How is she?", Gabrielle asked her wife. Xena smiled.

"She's sleeping now. She's going to be just fine. The wound from
the dagger wasn't very deep, but she lost some blood. That's why
she passed out. From blood loss and from shock. The wound on her
eye will leave a scar, but it's something warriors have, lots of
scars. Other than that, she only has minor cuts and bruises."
Gabrielle sighed from relief, so did Nali.

"What about her shoulder, she took a nasty fall on it?",
Gabrielle remembered Exl landing on her shoulder during the battle.

"There are no fractures, but it will be very, very sore for a
while." Gabrielle hugged her wife, and gave her a kiss. Nali walked
to Xena and said:

"Thank you Xena, for saving Exl, now and before. Because the
battle was already over when Zabor attacked, you helping Exl was
completely allowed."

"I've made a promise to her. To keep her safe and to keep my
wife safe. And she has promised to keep us safe. I had to keep my
promise, despite the conditions."

Exl woke up the next morning, feeling a bit fuzzy, but alright.
The only places that really hurt, were the wound on her right side
and her shoulder blade. Xena gave her medicine to help her heal and
they worked wonderfully. After a full day's rest, it was time for
Exl's ascension to power. All the villagers came to see the new
ruler of their nation and village. In the middle of the village
center, there was a platform, with the throne of the ruler in the
middle of it. The drummers started drumming and four women walked
towards the platform. Nali, Exl, Xena and Gabrielle walked to the
throne and turned to face the villagers. Nali stepped forward and
announced:

"My people, today is the day we get a new ruler. She is here
with her beloved friends to receive her royal duty. Here she is,
Exl, our new ruler!" She bowed to her cousin, so did all the
villagers. Xena and Gabrielle stood still, bowing their heads. Exl
walked to the edge of the platform and made her announcement.

"My people, as the new ruler, I want to inform the changes to
the laws and rules I am about to make. First of all, from this day
onward, our village is not ruled by a prince or princess, but by a
King or Queen. Before the only conditions a woman could become
ruler if she wins the regnant ruler in battle, if she is the only
child of the ruler or if the ruler names her as his heir. I will
not have it this way, a woman can become ruler in the same ways a
man could. If someone is made heir to the throne, they won't have
to fight for it. If he or she declines the honor, next in line for
the throne will be made ruler. So the battle of Huntar will be no
more!" Everyone accepted the changes Exl had made to laws and
rules. She turned to her Couple, saying to them:

"These are my friends, who are given full protection by our
people. If they are somewhere around here and need help, it is your
duty to help them in any way you can. My people, as my last
announcement, I want to inform you, I am giving up my place as
ruler." Everyone who heard this were gasping for air, they couldn't
believe their ears. Exl took Xena's and Gabrielle's hand and raised
them up to the air.

"I give up my place as ruler, because my place isn't here. It is
with these two." Exl lowered the hands and reached for her pendant,
and showed it to everyone.

"This pendant is a sign of my sacred duty. I am the Guardian of
these two women. And being with them is more important to me than
being ruler of any nation. I can not be ruler of anyone, for I am
the Guardian of Xena's and Gabrielle's love, their hopes and
dreams, and their lives. Until the day I die, I have vowed to
protect them with my life. I won't brake my vow by becoming ruler."
The people seemed touched, they kneeled in front of Exl. The
tradition of being a Guardian was truly respected, Gabrielle and
Xena could now see what it meant to these people.

"Rise my people, and greet your new ruler, Queen Nali, the
Just!" She walked to her cousin and kneeled in front of her. Nali
was touched by Exl's announcement and hugged her kneeling cousin
and helped her up. Then she walked to the throne and sat down.

"My people, as first task as Queen, I want everyone to remember
the one who defeated Zabor in the last battle of Huntar, the one
who changed our old rules and laws and the one who will always be
remembered as a great warrior and a loving Guardian. She is now
known as Exl, the Guardian, the Loyal, but now amongst our people
she will be always known as Queen Exl, the Valiant! Hurray for
Queen Exl!" Everyone started cheering for Exl. She felt very happy
being respected and honored by her people in such a warm way. She
went to hug her cousin, then to hug her Couple. She knew that she
would hear about this Queen thing for a long time from Xena and
especially from Gabrielle.

At the majestic feast, in Nali's and Exl's honor, at the Royal
table sat four "royals".

Queen Nali, Xena, Warrior Princess, Gabrielle, Queen of the
Amazons and Exl, Queen, Warrior and Guardian. All four celebrated
with great joy, especially Gabrielle, Exl and Xena, knowing nothing
could come between them. Not even small things, like someone being
made ruler of a nation in some far northern land.

Before turning in for the night, Exl looked out of the window in
her room and saw a bright star twinkling in the sky and a smaller
star next to it. She said:

"Grandfather, I hope I did the right thing today, I know I
should stay here and rule our nation, but my place is not here. My
place, my heart is with Gabrielle and Xena, no matter what. I hope
that I've made you proud, I have finally found my place in this
world. A family I belong to.

Swyther, I hope I've made you proud too. I fought for your
throne and won. I did what I thought was right, making Nali Queen.
Now I must continue in fulfilling my destiny and my sacred duty.
Protecting Gabrielle and Xena and their love for each other as long
as I live."

The bigger star got much brighter and so did the smaller one.
Exl smiled, knowing that was a sign from her grandfather and
Swyther that she had done the right thing and made them very proud.
She held her hand to her heart for a moment, gazed at the stars and
eventually went to bed.

The next afternoon, Exl, Xena and Gabrielle were about to leave
the village, when Rofar came to Exl. Gabrielle and Xena thought he
still wanted to settle the score with Exl, after what happened to
Caetim and Teme, but they were wrong. Rofar kneeled in front of Exl
and said:

"Queen Exl, I am sorry for what I did earlier. I had a dream
last night. Teme was in it, he told me he is happy now. He is with
Caetim now, together for all eternity. He told me it was his own
doing jumping of the cliff, you had nothing to do with it. He knew
you would come looking for him and would try to stop him. He just
wanted to go to Caetim, as soon as he could, he didn't want to wait
for years to be reunited with her. He wanted to thank you for what
you did for them and told me to forgive you. Can you forgive the
way I treated you before?" Exl smiled and put her hand on
Rofar's shoulder.

"Rofar, I forgive you, if you forgive me. I also blamed
myself for what happened to Teme and Caetim, without Gabrielle and
Xena I wouldn't have survived." Rofar stood up and continued:

"If your friends return here someday, I promise I will guard
and protect them with my life. You would have done it for my son,
so I'll do it for your friends." Exl gave Rofar a hug.

"Thank you Rofar. I hope I will see you some day."
Rofar saluted Exl and then turned to salute Xena and Gabrielle.
After doing this, he walked away.

"What was that all about? I thought he was going to rip you
apart", Xena asked Exl.

"Rofar told me Teme appeared in his dream, telling he is with
Caetim and he is happy. He also told Rofar to forgive me. AND Rofar
promised that if you would ever return here someday, he would guard
you and protect you with his life. Like I would have protected his
son." Gabrielle smiled and said: "That sounds kind. We have to come
here again someday, won't we Xena?" Xena nodded and said: "Sure we
do." They turned to take one last look at the village and saw Nali
holding Exl's sword and waving them goodbye. Exl had decided to
leave her sword as something to remember her by and something to
show future generations about the valiant warrior Queen. The three
rode to the nearest harbor and caught a ship that took them back to
Greece.

Arriving in Greece, Xena and Gabrielle said
simultaneously:

"Home…" Exl turned to look at the great sea behind her and
she also said:

"Home." She knew wherever she went she would be at home, for she
was with her beloved Couple, with her family.

"Exl, what is it?", Xena asked Exl, walking to her side.

"Nothing Xena, it feels good to be home." Exl smiled at Xena and
Xena smiled back at Exl. Gabrielle shouted to the
warriors:

"Hey Princess, Queen, are you just going to stand there or
what?"

Gabrielle liked to tease her wife and her Loyal.

"Okay Gabrielle, let's get one thing straight. I am not Queen",
Exl said with a smirk.

"So what are you then?" the bard asked amused.

"I am a warrior. I am Exl, the Loyal. The Guardian of Xena and
Gabrielle. Queen Exl, the Valiant. Not just simply Queen." Exl
started laughing loudly, realizing what she had said. Xena and
Gabrielle bursted into laughter. Exl truly had good sense of humor.
The threesome just laughed there for some time and then Gabrielle
walked to Exl and took hold of Exl's upper arm.

"Exl, to me it doesn't matter who you are or who you aren't.
What matters to me is that you are here with us." Exl gave a small
smile, pointed at her pendant and said:

"Gabrielle, nothing in this world could make me forget my vow to
you and Xena. No kings or gods could make me leave you." Xena
walked to her wife and their Guardian and grabbed both women in her
arms and said:

"What do you say if we went and told our families about our
joining? Exl, this will be your chance of meeting our families."
Gabrielle kissed her wife on the cheek and said:

"I think it's a great idea. What do you say Exl?" Exl spread her
arms and said:

"Lead the way. I can't wait to meet your families." Gabrielle
looked at Exl smiling then turned to look at Xena and said: